Fall for You
by Lightsxo
Summary: Danny returns to Amity years after high school to attend the funeral for Sam's father. It's been years since he's seen his ex-girlfriend, and years since he's seen their son.
1. Chapter 1

Hope you enjoy it!

Ps- I don't own Danny Phantom, would be awesome though!

Chapter 1

His bedroom was dark, with the curtains drawn tightly shut. Dirty clothes and empty beer cans scattered the floor. Danny Fenton lay fast asleep, tangled up in his own sheets, until his cell phone began to ring from the top of his dresser.

"Hello…?" He said in a groggy voice.

"Baby! I knew you would still be sleeping!"

"I wasn't sleeping, I was, ummm…" But Danny could not think of a good excuse fast enough. He rubbed his eyes and began to sit up in his bed.

"Exactly! Lazy." He could almost see the grin on his girlfriend's face.

"Mmm just come lay with me," he moaned, crashing back onto his pillow. "Just for a little bit."

"Daniel Fenton. It is past noon. Get up and do something productive!"

"Yeah yeah yeah. Hey, call me when you get out of class, ok? I'll take you to dinner before we go out for Tucker's birthday."

"Aw, you're the best Fenton. I love you!"

"I love you too baby girl. Talk to you in a bit, Lauren."

"Bye, Danny."

The twenty-three year old barely had time to shut his eyes when he heard a loud banging on his door.

"Daaannnnyyy!" he heard his roommate and best friend Tucker Foley yell, "get up, dude! It's my birthday! You only turn twenty-three once man! We are living it up tonight! I wonder if I can get any hot girls to give me lap dances or something for my birthday..."

Danny rolled his eyes and grinned. Finally getting out of bed, he walked out of his bedroom and entered the small living room of the apartment he and Tucker shared.

"Dude, work blows. We've only been out of college for a year but I miss it so much." Tucker ranted as he played with his newly upgraded PDA, a generous birthday gift from his parents. "I hate being an adult."

Danny laughed then yawned. "Late night?" Tucker asked. Danny nodded and laid his head back on the couch.

"Late night with Lauren, or…" Tucker chuckled.

"No, you perv, not with Lauren!" Danny said, "Just couldn't sleep."

Danny then heard a familiar ring coming from his room, so he quickly walked back into his dark bedroom, plopped back down on the bed, and answered his phone.

"Hi, Mom." Danny pulled the covers over his head as he talked to his mother. After a few minutes of chatting about work and life at home, Maddie Fenton asked cautiously, "So, Danny," she started, "have you read the newspaper yet today?"

"Mom, I don't even know if Tuck and I get the paper." He grinned as he new that his mother was probably rolling her eyes.

"Well, there's a nice article of Sam's father in there."

Danny sat up at the sound of her name. "Oh really? What about?"

"Well as you know, he and Mrs. Manson have donated a lot of money to the children's hospital here in Amity over the years. The paper had a nice picture of him, thanking him and his family for their support."

Danny was quiet, not sure where his mom was going with the conversation. He then heard her take a deep, slow breath. "Danny, Sam's dad was killed in a car accident yesterday."

Danny froze in shock; he couldn't believe it. It seemed totally unreal. True, Mr. Manson was never a fan of Danny hanging around his daughter, but still…

"Have you talked to Sam recently, Danny?"

Again, Danny was quiet. "No." He said. "Not in a while…"

"Oh."

Silence.

"Well," his mother began again, "the viewing is on Friday, and your father and I are going. It would be nice if you could make the trip home."

"Yeah, Mom, I'll be there." His heart began to pound. Going to the funeral meant he would see Sam again for the first time in years. It also meant he would see…

"Alright, well wish Tucker a happy birthday for us, and I will see you Friday."

Danny sat staring off into the darkness of his room. He couldn't imagine the pain Sam would be going through. Just then an image of Sam popped into his head, one of his last memories of being with her, the time she yelled she never wanted to see him again.

Tucker glanced up as Danny re-entered the living room.

"Mother dearest?" He asked.

"Yeah, she says happy birthday." Danny sat thinking for a moment before blurting out, "Did you know Sam's dad died in a car crash yesterday?"

Tucker stopped and looked him straight in the eyes. "Oh my god, seriously? Poor Sam, I mean I knew they never got along, especially with what happened senior year, but still, her own dad…"

"The viewing is Friday, if you would like to come with me."

"Of course I'll go." Tucker replied. "Are you bringing Lauren, too?"

Danny stopped to think. He had completely forgotten about Lauren…

"I don't know, I think it might be awkward."

"Eh, maybe not. You and Sam have been broken up for a couple of years anyway." Tucker said light heartedly. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Have you talked to her lately?"

Danny laughed. "My mom asked me the same thing, but no I haven't."

In a more serious voice, he asked, "Does Lauren know about you and Sam?"

Danny shook his head. "Lauren and I have only been together for like, less than a month. I think it's too soon, she might freak out."

"Maybe." Tucker said. "So it's on Friday. Will Sam have Noah there?"

Danny's heart sank. Tucker read the painful expression on his friend's face, but he didn't want to drop the subject, not quite yet.

"Danny, we never talk about Noah."

"I don't want to."

With that, Danny got up off the couch to go take a shower. Lauren would probably be getting out of class soon. He kicked yet another beer can out the way.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Danny looked in the mirror one last time, trying to get his messy hair to lay down flat.

"You need a haircut," said Lauren, who was sitting on Danny's bed texting on her phone. "It's getting to be a bit on the wild side."

"Hey!" Danny protested with a grin, "I like my hair, for your information."

Lauren giggled as she got off his bed and walked over and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for dinner, baby."

Danny looked down to view her outfit for the night. She was almost as tall as him in her black heels, and her tight strapless dress barely covered her. Her long blonde hair was down and curled.

"You're so gorgeous." Said Danny, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her in for a kiss.

"Ok are we…WOAH." Danny laughed as he looked over to see a blushing Tucker standing the in the doorway.

"Are we ready to go yet?"

Since the day Danny turned twenty-one, he had spent almost every weekend at the bars with Tucker. As much as he loved to drink and have a good time, there was something about being in a crowded place with loud music, where you could feel the bass pounding through your body…

"Listen, buddy, are ya just gonna stand there all night or are you going to order?"

Danny had not even realized he wasn't paying attention to the guy behind the bar. After getting a beer, Danny looked around for his friends. Danny, Lauren, and Tucker met up with Tucker's friends from class, who were all wasted, dancing, and spilling drinks. Lauren was dancing between two of her girlfriends, typical Lauren. Danny took a long drink of his beer, beginning to feel a bit dizzy from all the alcohol.

His mind began to wander, thinking of that night with Sam right after graduation...

_*Flashback*_

Danny could not tell who was more wasted, him or Sam. The two had spent the evening with their friends at a party with plenty of beer and liquor, bought by an older and legal sibling of the party host. There was a bonfire and loud music and teenagers screaming and running around having a good time. There was even a DJ entertaining students who were dancing and making out sloppily all over the place. There were beer pong tables set up on the lawn. Valerie Grey and Sam Manson were playing against their boyfriends, Tucker and Danny, and were currently winning.

"If I make this shot, Sam has to kiss Valerie, on the lips!"

The girls screamed and giggled as Tucker missed the shot, and lost the game. "Sorry, Tuck! Guess you'll have to settle for me tonight!" Valerie said and she walked over to Tucker and pulled him out to where the other classmates were dancing in front of the DJ. Sam laughed and ran into Danny's arms.

"Come on," she said quietly into his ear, sending shivers down his spine. "Dance with me."

She took his hand and pulled him to find Valerie and Tucker. When they found their friends, Sam and Valerie giggled and gave each other high fives, and Danny heard them say something about being "beer pong champs." Sam then stood with her back against him, taking his hands and sneaking them around her tiny waist. Danny smiled, smelling her hair and taking in her scent.

Samantha Manson had definitely changed since they first starting dating, during their freshman year of high school. She had grown a bit taller, and was still a petite girl, but more filled out and curvier than freshman year. She wasn't as Goth as she was before, but still liked to support an edgy look. She was now wearing extremely short jean shorts and a dark grey t-shirt that hung loosely over one of her shoulders. She was tan, and had let her dark hair grow past her shoulders. "You're so gorgeous," he drunkenly whispered into her ear. He saw a grin appear on her face and she began to grind harder on him, almost making him lose his mind.

Danny watched as she dropped all the way to the ground, and then brought her self up slowly. He pulled her ass closer, moving his hands from her hips, under her shirt…

"Danny." He heard her say as she took his hands and began to slowly slide them into her shorts. "I'm fucked up right now." She giggled and stumbled over, leaning back on to Danny for support.

Danny laughed and held his girlfriend tightly. "Me too."

They continued dancing in the middle of the crowd, and it wasn't until Sam bent over in front of him, moving her hips in slow circles, when he decided he couldn't take it anymore. He needed her.

"We'll be back." He told Tucker and Valerie, who were too busy making out to even notice. Danny took Sam's hand, and led her behind the Dj booth. Danny transformed to Danny Phantom and flew Sam back to her house, where he quietly phased them inside and downstairs to the basement.

"I love you." She whispered, pushing him down onto the couch and kissing him passionately.

"I love you to Sammy, more than anything."

He couldn't believe how good she looked, straddling and kissing him with everything she had. She was running her fingers through his hair as his hands wandered her body. She sloppily nibbled on his bottom lip and he ran his hands up her thighs and into her shorts…

"Fuck. I don't have a condom or anything."

Sam groaned. "Well, we've done it without one before…"

Danny nodded, "Yeah we'll be fine."

_*End of flashback*_

When Danny and Tucker got home from the bars, Danny went straight to his room. Lauren begged him to sleep over at her place, but Danny didn't feel right about staying with her that night when all he could think about was Sam…

Danny brushed his teeth, pulled off his shirt, and climbed in bed, dreading the long workday ahead of him. Danny had studied physical therapy in college, after acquiring so many injuries himself from all the ghost fighting he had done. He wanted to help others as well. As much as he liked his job, he knew he would have a hangover tomorrow.

The room began to spin and he started to regret drinking so much. He thought about Friday. He missed Sam, a lot. He thought about all the times running around Amity Park late at night with her and Tuck catching ghosts, the nights he would sneak out to have sleepovers at Sam's house, the night she told him she was pregnant…

Danny rolled over, refusing to think about Noah. He could feel the guilt began to creep up in his stomach, and the anxiety in his chest. He had never meant to hurt Sam, he just wanted to do the best thing for his son. He had only seen Noah once, the day he was born. He looked just like Sam. Danny laid wondering if Noah looked anymore like him these days.


	3. Chapter 3

By the time Thursday had rolled around, Danny knew that he had to come clean about his past to Lauren. She had known that he had dated one girl throughout high school, but Danny had never really given her the full details. That morning at breakfast, Danny tapped his fingers on the kitchen table nervously.

"Dude," said Tucker, rolling his eyes. "You were going to have to tell Lauren eventually. Just get it over with before we go to the funeral so she knows…"

"Yeah but how the hell do I explain this? 'Hey baby, I knocked up my highschool girlfriend but I was too busy fighting ghosts to be a father.' I'm sure that will go over smoothly."

"Listen. She already knows about your ghost powers. Just let her in on your other secret, and it'll all be good, bro." Tucker leaned back in his chair and took a long sip of coffee.

"I know," replied Danny. "I just thought I would've had more time to think of how I would tell her. This sucks."

"Sucks to suck, my friend!" Tucker said as he jumped up from his chair. "But it is time for me to go to work. I'm probably going to be late. At least we both got tomorrow off."

"Yeah, good thing." Danny replied nervously and he watched his friend head off into his bedroom to get ready for work. He looked out the window, hoping and praying that Lauren would be somewhat understanding of his situation. With a sigh, he grabbed his cell phone off of the kitchen counter and began to send a text to Lauren. _"Hey babe. Going 2 work. Come over later and I'll make dinner. Have lots 2 tell U_._"_ And with that he got up, and began to get dressed for the day.

It was the fastest workday of Danny's life. As he headed out to his car from the physical therapy clinic, he knew that he had to think of how he would bring up the subject of Sam and Noah. However, he had absolutely no idea how to do so. In no time, Danny was home, showered, and ready for Lauren to arrive. His heart stopped when he heard a loud knock on the front door.

As Danny headed out to open it, Tucker stopped him in the hall. "Alright, Danny. It's gonna be ok. Lauren is a nice girl. She will understand. And if she's pissed, just start apologizing over and over!"

"Oh, thanks Tuck! Great advice." Danny said rolling his eyes. Tucker gave him thumbs up. "You can do this man."

Danny opened the door to see his girlfriend all dolled up and ready for the night.

"Hi, sweetie!" She said smiling, kissing him quickly and then said, "It's so nice you are making us dinner tonight!" Danny smiled and nodded and headed into the apartment. He looked just in time to see Tucker wink and give a small wave as he quickly slid out the front door.

By the time Danny sat down on the couch next to Lauren, she was already chatting about her day. "So, Emily was like 'Why would you even think about getting low lights when your hair is such a beautiful _natural_ blonde in the first place?' And I said, 'Well, we can't all look like a freakin' Barbie doll like you!' And she said, 'I'm pretty sure Danny will be pissed if you change your hair color again.' So, I decided that you should just come to the salon with me tomorrow so you can help me decided on the perfect shade for my hair…"

Danny decided to interrupt. "Actually," he said nervously, "I can't go with you tomorrow. I'm going home to Amity. I have a funeral to go to."

"Oh, Danny! I'm so sorry! Who passed away?"

He took a deep breath. _"This is it."_ He thought.

"My ex-girlfriend's dad passed away. He was in a car accident a few days ago."

"Well that's sweet of you to go to the funeral." But Danny couldn't tell if she really thought if it was sweet or not.

"Should I go with you?" _"Shit."_

"Well," Danny started, but then realized all that he had rehearsed in his mind had gone out the window, and he was at a complete loss for words.

She raised an eyebrow. "You don't want me to go?"

"Lauren, there's something I have to tell you, and this is really hard because we've only been together about a month."

She stared at him with a look of concern. "What is it, Danny?"

"Ok, well remember when I told you about my powers?"

She giggled. "Yes, your ghost powers?"

"Right. I had them for a while before anyone knew I was Danny Phantom. During my freshman year was when everyone found out. My girlfriend Sam and I had just started dating, and then things got really hard. Ghosts would come after her all the time to try to get to me, but she was a strong girl. She was actually pretty good at capturing ghosts on her own. It was still a struggle, though; to make sure Amity was safe. More ghosts were coming through the ghost portal trying to capture me. It was my goal to close it for good to protect Sam and my town."

He paused, and she slowly began to nod. "Ok. Well, what happened to you guys then?"

"Well," he said shakily. "The summer after we graduated high school, we were at this party, and we were drunk and being stupid and that night…"

He noticed Lauren was leaning in and his story grew more intriguing, and he noticed that his hands were sweating.

"…Sam got pregnant."

There was a very long pause while Lauren stared at him with a confused look then finally said, "You have a kid."

"Yes."

Lauren then stood up and walked over to the other side of the living room. "So you got your girlfriend pregnant…and you have a kid."

"Yes."

"Why the hell are you just telling me this now?"

Danny knew that this was where the conversation was headed. She continued. "So this entire month we have been together you have been going to see your child and you haven't even told me about any of this?"

"Actually," he said ashamedly, "I have actually never seen him, besides the day he was born. I got to hold him in the hospital for a bit, but that's all. His name is Noah."

This confused her even more. She stood with a blank stare on her face. "So, you haven't seen him since he was born? Why?" She sat back down on the couch, looking very shocked.

"We were too afraid that something bad would happen to Noah. The moment Sam got pregnant; we decided that no one would know that Noah was my son. It was hard enough that Sam's life was in danger because of my powers, but neither of us could imagine what would happen if any of these ghosts found out about him. Some were extremely powerful. We only told our families, well and Tucker. We pretty much "broke up," and tried to communicate as little as possible."

"But, wasn't that hard?"

"Yeah, it was extremely difficult. Her parents hated me already, and sent her to live with an aunt and uncle out of town to protect her and the baby while she was pregnant. We made our break up very public, and even the ghost zone knew we were done. A few months later she announced that she was pregnant with a new boyfriend. Everyone believed it."

"Wow." Lauren sat and stared. "So, then what?" She asked angrily. "Were you never planning on seeing your son again?"

Danny continued. "We decided that I would work nonstop to try to close the portal. As long and I was under attack by ghosts, no one would know about Noah. That became harder when I went off to college. I knew when ghosts were around; I had my ghost sense to let me know when there was danger. I was on track in the beginning of the year, but it just got harder because I was away from home and I would have class the next morning or I would be at a party…and it was nice being a normal kid for once. I never got to just be myself and do whatever I wanted to do with out being tied down with the responsibilities of ghost fighting. I still captured a lot of ghosts and brought them into the ghost zone, but I knew I could have done better…

"I went to see Noah that first day in the hospital. I knew it would be a risk, but I made sure I wasn't followed to the hospital. The first moment I held him in my arms, I loved him more than anything, but I knew I would make a good dad. I could barely take care of myself, let alone a baby. I knew Sam had wanted me to come home from college, go to a school around home so we could be a family, and I could continue to fights ghosts, but I was getting too adjusted to the college life. It turned into a huge argument. I remember my ghost sense went off, and she yelled at me to get out, and that she never wanted to see me again. So I left."

Danny let out a huge breath as he felt like an enormous weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Lauren looked like she still had questions.

"So, that's it? You just gave up on your family?"

Danny shook his head. "No, I wasn't giving up. I knew I still had to close the portal, for Noah's sake. But I didn't want to come home from college to be a family, but Sam didn't want to leave her parents house, they helped a lot with the baby. I told her that she should come here and go to school with me, but she said that wouldn't be good for the baby. I loved Noah, I just don't think I would have made a good father at that point, I had no clue what I was doing, and she seemed to be doing just fine without me."

Lauren rolled her eyes and stood up. "You may just be the most selfish person I have ever met in my life Danny Fenton." She began to walk to the door when he stopped her.

"Woah woah woah. I just spilled my guts to you, and you're just going to leave?"

"Danny, you had a baby you never got to see, because you didn't want to give up your party guy college scene. Did you ever even close the ghost portal?"

Danny looked down into his lap. "I'm still working on it. I think I am close to, though."

"How old is Noah now."

Danny thought for a moment. "He's four."

Lauren put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows. "And you have only seen him _once_?"

Danny nodded. "I am just not dad material. And it wouldn't be safe anyway to go visit him…"

Lauren gave him a look of disgust. "You are pathetic," she said, and walked out the front door, leaving Danny to sit alone on the couch, feeling guiltier as ever.


	4. Chapter 4

The day finally came to head back to Amity for Mr. Manson's funeral. The viewing would be at the Manson's house, a place where Danny and Tucker hadn't been in years. Danny was driving, while Tucker messed around on his PDA.

"I'm pretty sure that Sam doesn't live with her parents anymore. I'm on her Facebook right now and it looks like she lives in an apartment with Noah from what I can tell from the pictures." Tucker said as he looked closer at the screen.

Danny smirked. "Sam blocked me from Facebook a long time ago."

Tucker leaned back un his seat and looked at Danny. "So, wait. When did she move out of her uncle and aunt's house? Isnt that where she went when she was pregnant?"

"Yeah," Danny replied. "But after Noah was born I guess they didn't want a newborn in the house, too stressful, so she moved back in with her parents. That's what my mom told me at least."

"Ah. Gotcha." said Tucker. "So how did everything go with you and Lauren?"

Danny sighed. "Well she kinda freaked out. She was angry, more because she thinks I "abandoned" my son…"

"Well, technically you did Danny." Tucker said hesitantly. "You don't even work that hard anymore to close the portal."

Danny could feel the frustration rising in his chest, so he wanted to drop the subject.

"I think it's creepy that the funeral is at their house. It's going to be weird going back there, too."

"Yeah, it is!" Tucker replied. "Those were some good times though."

"Mhmm. Good times." Said Danny softly.

The two friends chatted about work and girls and other things, then they finally pulled up to the very large house where they had spent so much time as teenagers. They had to park a few houses away; cars were lined up all the way down the street. As the roommates got out of the car and headed towards the house, Danny nervously ran his hand through his hair. "I have no clue if she even knows we're coming."

Tucker patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry dude. We did the right thing by coming. Besides, maybe you and Sam can finally work things out."

Danny gulped as they reached the front door. _"Pull it together."_

When the large front door swung open, the boys were greeted by a man in a suit and tie, carrying a tray of drinks. He stepped aside and let Danny and Tucker through. "_This is it." _Danny thought as he stepped into the house. It was just as how he remembered it, except for pictures of Mr. Manson and his family was placed all over. Flowers were also located all over the first floor of the mansion. The door had just closed behind him when he heard his name. "Daniel. Tucker. How lovely of you boys to come." Danny looked up to see a very small and very tired looking Mrs. Manson standing with a glass of water in her hand. She looked fragile, and Danny couldn't tell if she looked older just because of the time it had been since he last saw her, or because of the stress from the passing of her husband.

Tucker looked cautiously between the Danny and Sam's mother, and stepped forward to give her a hug. "I am so sorry for your loss, Mrs. Manson." She gave a slight smile as he stepped back.

"You boys certainly have grown taller." She looked at Danny, who then walked up to her and gave her a small hug. "Sam's around here somewhere." She said to Danny quietly. "I know things have been rough between you, but it's not right that Noah doesn't have a father figure in his life."

"I know." Said Danny quietly, looking at his feet. Mrs. Manson walked away, greeting new people coming through the door. Danny glanced around the room, looking for his parents. Tucker seemed to know exactly what he was thinking. "Maybe your mom and dad are just running late."

Danny tried to force a smile. "As usual." The boys walked around, looking at all the pictures set up in the living room. "I'll be right back, I have to go the bathroom." Tucker nodded and Danny politely managed his way through the crowd and into the hallway. He knew Sam's house like the back of his hand. When we reached the bathroom, the door was closed. He leaned against the wall to wait his turn. After a few seconds, however, he began to hear noises coming from inside the room. He leaned closer and realized that whoever was in the bathroom, was singing.

"_The itsy bitsy spider crawled up the water spout. _

_Down came the rain, and washed the spider out._

_Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain,_

_and the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again!"_

"Mommy can we sing it one more time? Please?"

"No, Noah. It's time to go potty, or you will not wear your big boy underwear anymore."

"But mommy…"

"No buts. Think of all your big boy underwear Grammy just bought you. You can't wear them if you can go potty on the toilet like a big boy."

Danny froze. He instantly knew from the sound of the voice that it was Sam in the bathroom. He listened as the young boy with her complained about using the toilet.

"Someone needs a nap." Sam said, and Danny heard the toilet flush.

"No mama! I didn't even get to play with my dinosaurs yet!"

"Jump up on the stool so we can wash our hands, and then you can play."

Danny heard the water running, and he had no idea what to do. Should he just wait until they came out? Or should he walk away and pretend he never heard them in there? His thoughts were interrupted when the door swung open and a young woman carrying a small boy stepped out of the bathroom.

"Sorry!" She said and she almost bumped into him. "I didn't… Danny?" Her voice trailed off as they made eye contact. Danny shuffled his feet and gulped. "Hi Sammy."

She blinked at the sound of her old nickname, and stared. "What are you doing here?" He could tell by the sound of her voice that she was upset.

"To pay my respects. And to see you." Danny then looked at Noah who clung quietly to his mother. She hoisted him higher on her hip. "Baby, why don't you go find Grammy. Maybe she can get down your dinosaurs for you?"

The boy grinned. Sam brushed his hair out of his face and smiled. "You need a hair cut little man."

For the first time in years, Danny took a good look at his son. Noah was the most beautiful child Danny had ever seen. He looked exactly like Sam, with her sweet smile, but his eyes were his fathers. Noah's eyes shone brightly and Sam set him down, and he ran off to find Mrs. Manson.

Sam took a deep breath, pushed her hair out of her face, and looked at Danny.

"I'm sorry. I just didn't expect to see you here." She said with a small laugh. She looked just as tired as her mother.

"That's ok." Said Danny, stepping forward awkwardly to hug her. She hugged him back, but it was quick. As he stepped back, her eyes looked him up and down.

"You clean up nicely, Fenton."

Danny smiled. "I am glad you haven't changed much Sammy. How are you?"

Sam sighed. "I'm alright. Just working and being a mom. I can't believe he is four and I cannot get him to use the toilet for anything. Your mom told me you were like that too when you were little." Danny blushed, but Sam didn't seem to notice. "Were you waiting to use the bathroom?"

Danny had totally forgotten that they were even standing alone in the hallway. "Oh. Right. Yeah." He could feel himself blushing even harder and opened his mouth to say something else, but Sam had already begun to walk away, and he heard her say, "Noah! Get _down_ from that table!"

When Danny was alone in the bathroom. He immediately locked the door and walked up to the mirror. He turned on the faucet and splashed some cool water onto his face. He couldn't believe that he was here, with Sam and Noah. Why hadn't Sam introduced them? Did Noah know about his father? Danny tightly shut his eyes, and prayed that he would get another chance to be alone with Sam.

Danny spent the rest of the afternoon awkwardly trying to plan how to talk to Sam. He had no idea what to say. He watched her from the other end of the room, as she talked to friends and relatives. Danny couldn't help but noticed how good she looked. For having a baby, and living on her own, she was definitely in shape. Even Tucker had thought so when they talked quietly from the table of food.

"Danny, maybe you should hang around when people start leaving. Maybe you should stay and try to talk to her. Have you talked to Noah at all?"

Danny watch as his friend popped a cracker and cheese cube into his mouth.

"No, I only saw him when he came out of the bathroom with Sam. I haven't seen him since. She said something about taking a nap though."

When his parents finally arrived, Danny could not help but feel relieved. He finally had someone, besides Tucker, to talk to. He saw his parents head over to Mrs. Mason, and to his surprise, she walked right up and hugged both of his parents.

"Since when have my parents become close to the Mansons?" Danny said frowning.

The Fentons made their way over to Danny, and greeted and hugged both him and Tucker.

After about another hour or so, people were beginning to leave, and the large house was quickly becoming empty, but Danny still felt anxious about talking to Sam.

Just then, Sam appeared out of nowhere and said, "It really means a lot to me that you guys came."

"Anytime, Sam. Just give me a call whenever you need me!" Said Tucker and gave her one last huge goodbye. He turned to Danny and said "I'm going to say goodbye your parents and Sam's mom."

When Danny and Sam were finally alone, he knew he had to make a move.

"Sam," he started. "There's a lot we need to talk about. It was wrong what I did to you and…"

"Danny, it might be best if you just go." He could see the hurt in her eyes. "Noah will probably wake up from his nap soon, he doesn't know about you yet and I don't even know how to tell him."

"Please, let's just talk ok? Everyone seems to be leaving, are you going home tonight or staying here?"

"We'll probably just stay the night here. I'm too tired for the twenty minute drive home." She said with a small smile. "If you want, you could stay for awhile, I'm sure my mom won't mind. You can hang out with me and Noah."

At that, Danny's heart began to race. _"Is she really going to let me stay here? Is this really that easy?"_

"Yeah, I'll stay."

Sam nodded, and walked off to say goodbye to several people listening. Danny went to go find Tucker, to tell him his change of plans.


	5. Chapter 5

Hi, guys! So I am having a MAJOR problem with my account. Whenever I try to submit a chapter, I get signed out somehow and I have been trying to update for so long. Is this happening to anyone else? Maybe its just my internet, oh well.

Thanks for all the reviews and I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 5

It was getting to be almost three in the afternoon when people started to leave the Manson residence. Danny and Tucker stood outside Danny's car, speaking in quiet voices.

"So, she _wants_ you to stay?" Tucker asked slowly with a confused look on his face.

"I think so. She seemed a little off when I was talking to her, but she's probably just had a rough couple of days."

Tucker swayed back and forth on the sidewalk, looking up into the sky. He asked, "Danny, how long has it been since the last ghost attack? It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

Danny nodded, then laughed. "I don't even remember that last time I had to use my powers."

"So do you think Amity if finally safe? Even if the ghost portal isn't closed?"

"Not sure." Danny responded. He looked at Tucker and shrugged his shoulders. "I haven't heard of any attacks in months."

The sun was shining and a warm breeze made the leaf-less trees sway. It was the beginning of March. "Noah's birthday is the 22nd. I can't believe that its almost been five years…" His voice trailed off as he watched more people exit out of Sam's house.

He wondered where he would be at today had he come back and lived with Sam after Noah was born. A full time worker and a full time dad: that thought terrified him.

Danny turned back to Tucker. "I don't think I would have made a good dad. I thought that after Noah was born that I would have my life together, but I guess not. I mean come on, I felt like I had it all in high school. I felt invincible. Then she got pregnant..." Danny looked up just in time to see Sam standing near the window talking to get mother. "I do miss her, though. And I don't think I can live without getting to know Noah." He ran his hands furiously through his hair. "I just don't know what to do!"

"Well, just talk to Sam. Maybe you can start visiting him on the weekends or something."

The boys decided that Tucker would take the car to go visit his parents, then pick Danny up later to head back home. "Just text me. I feel bad, I feel like I have been leaving you to deal with your female issues. But good luck Danny. You know Sam's a hardass, but just be nice. She's been through a lot." And with that, Tucker hopped in the car and Danny walked back into the house.

When he walked back inside, he saw Sam sitting alone on the couch holding a cup of coffee. He could see the steam rising from the mug, as she seemed to be staring off into space. When she noticed his arrival, she moved over and he sat down.

"So, what did you want to talk about."

"Umm, just wanted to talk, I know we haven't talked in awhile." Danny didn't know how to start. He watched her face nervously, but he couldn't tell what she was thinking. She looked impatient, and slightly unfriendly.

"Hmm." She said stiffly, and set her coffee down on the table. "Ok, I'm just going to tell you why I wanted you to stay: Noah needs a father. He needs to know that you care about him, that is, if you do care."

"Of course I care! Listen Sam I know I messed up big time, and I'm sorry. I freaked out…"

"Really? You've been freaking out for the past five years and that's why you haven't been around?" He could tell by the sound of her voice that she was getting angry. "I was scared too! I had no idea how to raise a baby, and I did it all alone too!"

"Look," she said, rubbing her eyes. "I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place here. I want Noah to know you. I do. I want him to know and love his dad. But on the other hand, how to I introduce my son to a man who abandoned him as a baby? How do I tell him that Danny? You think you can just walk right in here and everything is ok? What the hell am I suppose to do?"

"Sammy listen…"

"Don't call me that."

They sat in silence.

Danny watched and her cheeks turned pink and her eyes became watery. "I didn't come here to fight with you."

"I know." She said, tucking her shoulder length hair behind her ears.

"We have to figure this out. Today. I don't want to leave Noah in the dark about his father."

"Ok." Danny said almost in a whisper. "I'm trying Sam. This is hard for me too."

At that moment, Sam looked up and said slowly, "This is hard for _you? _Please tell me Danny how its hard for you."

Danny froze in shock, "Sam…I…"

"No. Let's face it Danny, you took the easy way out. You decided to just leave us and go off pretending like we never existed."

"That's not fair!" He exclaimed angrily. "You told me in the hospital that you never wanted to see me again. How was I supposed to take that?"

She buried her face in her hands and rubbed her eyes yet again. "Danny, you are so damn clueless."

"Really? We're going to start that again? What, are we 15?"

"Nope, I'm twenty three, Danny. Twenty three and I have full time job and I'm a full time mom. What do you do? You still live in a college town and take no responsibility for your actions."

They sat in silence again, but this time it was more painful.

"So what do we do?" Danny asked, trying his hardest to yell back at her.

"I am not sure really." Sam looked at the large grandfather clock near the fireplace. "I know deep down, somewhere, you're a good person. That's why I want you to have a relationship with Noah. I could honestly care less about you anymore, and it wouldn't bother me to never see you again, but for Noah's sake, you should be around more often."

This was not the Sam he knew. He could feel his heart breaking as she said she didn't care about him. Of course he still loved her, and he knew he hurt her very badly.

"Sam, I know it doesn't mean much, but I am so terribly sorry. I know I hurt you, but I didn't mean to. You took the whole "getting pregnant" thing way better than I did after Noah was born. You're a good mom. And I'm sorry for everything."

"I just don't know what to do." She said, as a single tear trailed down her face.

Suddenly, Danny heard a small voice coming from the staircase. "Mommy?"

Danny and Sam turned around to see Noah standing holding a floppy stuffed dog. Sam immediately wiped the tear from her face, and smiled at their son.

"Come over here Noah. I want you to meet someone."

The small boy hurried over and Sam pulled him onto her lap. "I remember you." Noah said. "You were at the party for Grandpa today." Danny smiled, and Sam continued. "This is my friend Danny. We were friends a very long time ago." Noah looked between Danny and his mom, then back at his toy puppy, clearly uninterested of the strange man sitting on the couch.

"Do you want to show him your new trucks?" Sam asked, running her fingers through his hair softly. "Sure!" Noah said excitedly and jumped off from the couch. "There in the kitchen, on top of the fridge. I'll be right here if you need me."

Danny was unsure if she was talking to him or Noah, but he followed his son into the kitchen to retrieve the toys. When he got the basket down, Danny watched as Noah's eyes light up as he set them down on the table.

"_This_ one is my favorite. It goes fast and is the fastest ever. You can be the red one and we will race."

Danny slowly picked up the red car Noah had set aside for him. He smiled as Noah told him all about the toys in front if them. Danny had a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. _"Why did I wait this long to do this? Why was I so afraid?" _After nearly 20 minutes of playing, Sam peeked her head into the kitchen. "I'm going to up upstairs and change. Danny, there are crackers and cheese sticks in the fridge in you two want a snack." Danny looked at her, smiled, and nodded.

"Mommy, can Danny stay longer and play? He likes cars just like me." Sam looked at Danny, then back at Noah. "We'll see baby."

Sam closed the door and walked upstairs to her old room. She smiled as she entered the dark and gothic style room. She still had posters hanging up on the wall, and she was surprised her parents never took them down. When she had moved back in with Noah, she moved into the guest bedroom in the basement, so her parents wouldn't be woken up at night from the baby. She didn't even bother to redecorate the old room. Secretly, she still liked her dark purple sheets and candles around the room. She sighed as she pulled out a t-shirt and sweat pants from a duffle bag on the bed. She caught her reflection in her tall mirror, and walked up to it. She could not believe this was her. She would never have imagined herself as a responsible adult by the age of 23. She knew she wanted kids, but not for a long long time.

There was a picture of her, Danny, and Tucker during graduation taped near the top of the mirror. She laughed at the amount of eyeliner she was wearing. She looked so happy. She felt a lump from in her throat as the tears began to spill from her eyes.

"_How could he do this to me? We were suppose to work through this together, then he just stop caring."_ She thought to herself as she tried to calm herself down. She knew she had to be strong for Noah. She loved her son more than anything in the world, but she couldn't help feel lonely when she would put Noah to bed, or when he did something adorable or funny and she just wanted to share that with someone, share it with his father.

She wiped her eyes, hopefully for the last time and headed back downstairs. She entered the kitchen to see Noah sitting on Danny's lab eating his snack. Sam sat down next to Danny. Neither of them said a word while Noah rambled on about his trucks.

Sam laughed and pulled Noah on her to lap and groaned, "You are getting too big!"

Noah laughed as cracker crumbs fell from his lap and onto Sam's. "You also need a bath little man. Why don't you go say goodbye to Danny and go find some toys for bath time."

"Bye Danny. You are good at playing cars. You can play them whenever you want too, I will share." Sam put him back on the ground and he went up the stairs.

Danny sighed. "That was amazing Sam. He is such a smart kid too."

"Yeah, he speaks pretty well for his age." She looked near the staircase to see if Noah had made it all the way upstairs. She opened her mouth to say something, but Danny beat her to it.

"I want to see him more often Sam. I don't care about the drive, but I want to be here more for him."

Sam nodded. "Alright. Do you want to come back tomorrow? I have to go take care of some things from the funeral with my mom; you could stay here and watch him maybe? I can trust you with him right?"

Danny grew excited. "Yeah of course Sam! What time do you need me here?"

"Probably around noon. I'll leave out food for his lunch and maybe a snack for later. He usually doesn't take a nap unless it's been a hectic day, but he will probably want to stay up if you're here."

Danny nodded, trying to remember all Sam was telling him. "So, when are we going to tell him I'm his dad?"

"Possibly tomorrow. I need to think of what to say first."

Sam walked Danny to the door, said a short goodbye, and quickly closed the door. Danny smiled as he pulled out his phone to call Tucker. "Tuck? Great news. Sam says I can come see him tomorrow too…"


End file.
